Karalis: Tatum was fouled at end of Cavaliers game

On Wednesday's Toucher & Hardy radio program, John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal breaks down Jayson Tatum's final sequence of Tuesday night's Cavaliers game.

Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.

Hardy: What happened down the stretch with the Celtics last night?

John Karalis: Yeah, we haven't seen it much, but it's kind of like a reversion to last season. The Celtics went up 22 points with nine minutes to go in the game. It's easy to forget that they started the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run. And it just looked like the game was over.

The Celtics weren't even playing their best basketball through three-plus quarters. And they'd built up that huge lead. Once the lead got to 22 points, they were like, "Eh, we're done here."

And because it didn't take the kind of effort that it normally takes to build a 22-point lead, they just relaxed and figured they could turn things back on.

We joke about Dean Wade, but he is capable of hitting shots. It's not the first time he's hit six three-pointers in a game this season. This is still the same Cavaliers, though. I know they didn't have Donovan Mitchell, but they did just whip off a massive run. They went 20-5 in January and February to climb up to the second seed in the East. This was always a good team regardless of missing their start. They still have other good players.

The Celtics decided they would let up late in the game, and the Cavs caught fire. The Celtics just couldn't get control back. If you want to condense things into one sentence, that's kind of what happened.

Wallach: Let's talk about the final sequences of the game. Do you agree with Joe Mazzulla not taking a timeout at the end? And, was that, or was that not a foul on Darius Garland? Also, why did the refs start the clock prematurely on that final jump ball?

John Karalis: Let's work backward. The time starts when the ball is tipped.

Wallach: I thought that had to do with player possession.

John Karalis: Not in a jump ball situation like that. The clock starts when the ball is tipped. So, that's fine. Now, did Derrick White catch it in time to call a timeout? I know there was very little time on the clock, but you can at least get a lob or something.

Did Tatum get fouled? I thought it was a landing spot kind of foul. So I thought, yes. I'm kind of 50/50 on that. Also, on a fadeaway, your leg naturally kicks out. That is a natural shooting motion. So, I think Tatum had a case there to be made. So, I'm going to say that he did get fouled. Although I understand the interpretation, I think it's a misapplication of the interpretation. That is an interpretation that probably should have happened a million times on James Harden's three-pointers but never has.

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The New England Patriots are primed to make a big splash in 2024 free agency. Armed with the second-most salary cap space in the NFL at about $88.75 million (via Over The Cap), they're well-positioned to invest in at least one player around the top of the market.

And there have been plenty of rumors leading up to free agency. After the NFL Combine and the franchise tag window have come and gone, the start of the league year and the open market is the next big step. The Patriots should be an active team when that begins.

The league year officially begins at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13. But it's likely that plenty of free agent news will pour in before then, because first, there's the "legal tampering" period, which officially opens at noon ET on Monday, March 11.

MORE: Ranking the top-10 free-agent wide receivers of 2024

Read below for the latest Patriots news & rumors ahead of the start of NFL free agency, in our live Patriots free agency tracker...

Hunter Henry won't hit the open market, after all. He's staying with the Patriots on a three-year extension worth a base value of $27 million and a maximum of $30M, with $16M guaranteed.

Josina Anderson was first to report Friday that the two sides were "working on" a deal, then the NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported the agreement. Ian Rapoport had the contract details, while Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald had the guaranteed money.

As first reported by Ian Rapoport, the Patriots are signing former Steelers right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. The 26-year-old started 59 of 77 games for Pittsburgh from 2018-23.

According to Field Yates, Okorafor's contract is for one year and a base value of $4 million with a chance to be worth up to $8.25 million. The move feels like an insurance signing in the event that the Pats end up losing Mike Onwenu in free agency.

The Patriots used up their only tag on safety Kyle Dugger, who got the transition tag. That means they couldn't use any tag on offensive lineman Mike Onwenu. That didn't necessarily mean Onwenu couldn't still sign an extension with the Patriots, but according to Ian Rapoport, Onwenu is expected to become an unrestricted free agent.

New England now runs the risk of losing its starting right tackle to free agency. With left tackle Trent Brown also likely gone, the Patriots have a lot of work to do at that position.

The Patriots have applied the transition tag - not the franchise tag - to safety Kyle Dugger, as reported by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Per the report, Dugger's transition tag costs $13.81 million. Fowler believes the Patriots could be buying time to work toward a long-term deal with the 27-year-old safety.

The transition tag gives the Patriots the right to match any offer Dugger would receive on the open market, similar to a restricted free agent getting an offer sheet. However, the big difference is if they lose Dugger to another team, they won't receive any compensation.

It doesn't sound good for the Patriots' chances to re-sign either wide receiver Kendrick Bourne or tight end Hunter Henry. According to a report by MassLive from the combine, they're "not seeing eye-to-eye" with Bourne on a contract, and they're "far apart on an extension" with Henry.

The report did also state that the Patriots "would like to bring Henry back." But it sounds like it's going to take a real, competitive offer to get that done.

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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt's content.